Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1887-09-02

SO far from being ashamed, they woul(
spring to their feet with more alacrity thar
they ever sprang to the dance, the tear
mingling with their exhilaration as the,
cried awe are witnesses" And if the,
tried to sing the old Gospel hymn the,
would break down with emotion by thu
time they got to the second line:
Ashamed of Jesus that dear friend
On whom my hopes of heaven dcpen
| No! When I blush be this my sham
That no more revere His name.
Again 1 remarked that 1--WE are witnesses
of the Gospels power II comfort.
When man has trouble the world
comes in and says: "Now get your mind of
this; go out and breathe the fresh air;
plunge deeper into business" What poor
advise. Get your mind off OF it! when
everything is up-turned with the bereave-
ment and everything reminds you Of what
You have lost. Get your mind off of it!
They might as we'll advise You to stop
you cannot stop thinking in that direction.
Take walk in the fresh air! Why, along
that very street or that very road she once
accompanied you. Out of that grassplot
she plucked flowers, or into that show win
dow she looked, fascinated, saying:
"Come, see the pictures" Go deeper into
business! Why, she was associated with
oil your business ambition, and since she
has gone you have no ambition left. oh,
this is clumsy world when it tries to
comfort a broken heart. l can build O
Corliss engine, can paint . RaEhaele
madonna" can play Beethoyen's
comfort broken heart. And yet you have
been comforted How was it done? Did
Christ come to you and say: "Get your
mind off this; go out and breathe the fresh
air; plunge deeper into business?" No.
There was minute when he came to you
perhaps in the watches of the night,
perhaps in your place of business, perhaps
along the street-and he breathed some-
thing into your soul that gave peace, rest,
infinite quiet, 80 that you could take out
the photograph of the departed one and
look into the eyes and the face of the dear
one, and say: ut is all right; she is better
off; I would not call her back. Lord, /
thank thee that thou hast comforted my
poor heart.
There are Chistian parents here who are
willing to testify to the power of this Cos
pei to comfort. Your son had lust gradu-
ated from school or college and was going
into business, ana the Lord took him. OF
your daughter had just graduated from the
young ladies seminary and you thought
she was going to be useful woman and OF
long life; but the Lord took her and you
were tempted to say: "All this culture OF
twenty years for nothing!" Or o little
child came home from school with the hot
fever that stopped not for the agonized
prayer or for the skillful physician, and
the little child was taken. Or the babe
was lifted out of your arms by some quick
epidemic, and you stood wondering why
God ever gave you that child at oil, if SC
\ Ho IN fob An at
are not repining, you are not fretful, you
are not fighting against God.
What has enabled you to stand all the
trial? ooh, you say, II took the medicine
that God gave my sick soul. In my dis
tress threw myself at the feet of SYM
pathizing God; and when was too weak
to pray or to look up He breathed into me
a peace that think must be the foretaste
of that Heaven where there is neither O
tear, nor farewell, nor grave" Come
oil ye who have been out to the grave tc
weep there-come, all ye comforted souls
get up off your knees. Is there no power
there no power in this religion to quiet the
worst parexysm of grief? There comes ur
an answer from comforted widowhood
and orphanage, and childlessness, saying
AYE, aye, We are Witnesses"
| Again, remark that we are witnesses
of the fact that religion has power to give
composure in the last moment. I shall
never forget the first time 1 confronted
death. We went across the cornfelds in
the country. was led by my fathers
hand and we came to the farm house
where the bereavement had come, and We
saw the crowd of wagons and carriages
attracted my boyish attention, and it hac
black plumes. l said: "What's that;
what's that? Why those black tassels o.
the top?" and after it was explained to me
I was lifted up to look upon the brigh
face of an aged Christian woman, who
three days before had parted in triumph
The whole scene made an impression
never forgot.
In our sermons and in our lay e1horta.
tons we are very apt, when We want L
bring illustrations of dying triumph, to n
back to some distinguished personage-tt
q John Knox or Harriet Newell. But
want you for witnesses.
want to know if you have ever seer
anything to make you believe that the re.
ligion of Christ can give cemposure in The
final hour. Now, in the courts, attorney
jury, and judge will never admit mere hear.
say. They demand that the witness mus
have seen with his own eyes, or heart
with his own ears, and SO I am critical il
my examination of you now, and wan
to know whether you have seen or hearl
anything that makes you believe that the
religion of Christ gives comfort in tn,
final hour.
ooh, yes" you soy, II saw my father
and mother depart. There was grea
difference in their death-beds. Standing
by the one we felt more veneration. BY
the other there was more tenderness.
Before the one you bowed perhaps in awe
In the other case you felt as if you would
like to go along with her. How did the,
feel in that last hour? How did they seen
to act? Were they very much frightened
Did they take hold Of this world will
both hands as though they did not want tc
give it up! ooh, no, you say; mo, re.
member as though it were yesterday; she
had kind word for us all, and there were
few mementoes distributed among the
children, and then she told us how kline
We must be to our father in his loneliness
and then she kissed us good-by and wen
asleep as child in cradle"
What made her SO composed? Natura
courage? no." you say; mother was
very nervous. When the carriage inclined
to the side of the road she would cry out
She was always rather weakly" What,
then, gave her cemposure? Was it because
she did not care much for you and the
pang of parting was not great? "Oh," you